Experimental AU
by EyePhoenix
Summary: This is a Naruto Highschool AU. At the moment it is purely experimental as I would like to see if it gains interest. Critical reviews are very welcome. I will not indulge too far into the plot of this story as I wish any further chapters to remain unknown for now, but to give a basic rundown; it is about two rival schools within Konoha which are joined together for the Genin Event.
1. Chapter 1

**_AN:_** This is just a little something I'm working on in my spare time - when I'm not doing coursework or shifts at work basically - as this account is completely experimental this fanfic does not have a name as of yet. If enough people are interested I will upload the rest of this chapter onto my original fanfiction account. This will include SasuNaru moments later within the fanfic, the fanfic itself is loosely based off of SasuNaru fanart I have seen. This is a High School AU fanfiction and is based loosely off of the canon Naruto series - this will become evident in later chapters. The complete fanfiction will someday be posted on my main account, but for the time being it is experimental as I wish to see how readers will react to a taster of the first chapter. Please feel free to be critical over my work as this is another reason as to why I am only uploading a portion - I plan to use any feedback to improve the chapters that I have already written and use this technique again for later chapters. Thank you for reading this, I really hope you enjoy it :)

Oh! I almost forgot, Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and TV Tokyo. This is a non-profitable publication. Rated T for mild violence.

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><p><strong><em><span>Chapter One: Meeting.<span>_**

The petals of the cherry blossoms drifted lazily to the ground; covering the dirt path and green grass into a velvety pink blanket, while the swallows dived between the branches of the trees; singing to each other and collecting suitable twigs and leaves – from which they could build their nests in the higher branches of the cherry blossom trees. The sunlight was filtered onto the covered path by the foliage of the area. Small animals; such as rabbits, burrowed under the trees and spent their days happily scurrying around the peaceful surrounding or eating at the grass until they felt content enough to lie calmly in the shade.

The peace and quiet of this beautiful place was barely disturbed as the wooded area belonged to one of the village's schools; Konohagakure Institute – a Private School. Any of the adult population that resided within the village of Konohagakure were usually too busy with their daily lives to even acknowledge the existence of such a place and the school students were not particularly interested in the cherry blossom wood unless it was a useful short-cut home from school., however some of the students from Konohagakure Institute's rival school; Konoha Academy, also used the cherry blossom woods as a short-cut. Encounters between the students from both schools would usually result in brutal fights.

Naruto Uzumaki; the infamous Jinchuuriki and prankster from the public school, laughed as he congratulated himself for his latest achievement – flunking his last and less favourite lesson of the day; science. He ruffled the pink petals from his blond hair with one hand and held onto the strap of his rucksack that was hung over his shoulder with the other.  
>'Iruka Sensei is going to be so mad when he finds out!' Naruto chuckled gleefully to himself; allowing his cerulean eyes to wander up to the equally blue sky and imagining his strict sensei's angry face. Naruto's grin turned into a frown as Iruka's face continued to loom in his mind and a guilty sensation fell upon the boy. 'Hm… he might come after me again; perhaps I should lie low for a while.' He cast his eyes around at the surrounding trees; deciding that the cover of the foliage would keep him out of trouble until three o'clock – this was when he would retrace his footsteps back to Konoha Academy and meet up with his two friends Kiba Inuzuka and Shikamaru Nara.<br>He dropped his rucksack on the floor, sat down next to it and leant against one of the many trees; enjoying his freedom and grinning blissfully as a gentle breeze caressed his face – making the few strands of blond hair that fell over Naruto's face tickle his eyes and nose.

As time slowly ticked past, the young Jinchuuriki yawned and rubbed his watery eyes in a futile attempt to keep them open until he gradually fell into a light snooze.

Unfamiliar voices and laughter echoed around Naruto when he opened his eyes again. He blinked groggily at the sunlight that was now shining directly onto his face and making his eyes sting slightly in response.  
>'Uh?' Naruto's unfocused gaze fell upon the watch on his wrist. 'Three o'clock?' He narrowed his eyes to squint at the watch so that he could confirm the time. 'That means…'<br>Naruto's eyes widened as the voices drew closer to the spot where he was slumped against the tree; he then quickly scurried to his feet and grabbed his bag – throwing it over his left shoulder.  
>'Hey, you!' Naruto froze where he stood as one of the voices called out to him in a hostile tone.<br>Naruto whirled around on the spot to face four boys; each of them at least a year or two older than he was and each of them wearing matching navy blue blazers with red ties and grey trousers. Naruto instantly recognised the embroidered Konoha Leaf symbol on their breast pockets.  
>'You're from the public school, aren't you?' A brunet boy – who stood a little further ahead of the other three boys – eyed Naruto's yellow jumper suspiciously. 'What are you doing around here?'<br>'I'm just walking.' Naruto replied defensively.  
>'Walking?'<br>'Yeah, it's where you put one foot in front of the other and –'  
>'Don't get smart with me, I know what walking is!' The brunet clenched his fist threateningly as he took a step closer to the golden haired boy. 'You shouldn't be sulking around here; these woods belong to Professor Shimura!'<br>Naruto had to suppress the urge to cock his head to one side and wrinkle his nose in confusion; he was fairly certain that he had heard the name "Shimura" before, but couldn't remember where.  
>'Hey, Tori…' Another one of the boys – this one was blond – approached the brunet and lowered his voice to a harsh whisper. 'Isn't he <em>that<em> kid?'  
>'Huh?' The boy named Tori stared at Naruto with scrutinising eyes – taking note of the whisker-like markings on Naruto's cheeks. 'I think you're right, Uzura.'<br>'_That kid_?' Naruto glared at the older boys and his body shook with outrage; just like almost everyone else in the village, their attitude towards him was unpleasant and they stared at him with those same hateful eyes despite the fact that they did not know him nor had he ever recalled meeting them before this very moment. 'What's that supposed to mean?'  
>'You're that monster!' Uzura pointed accusingly at Naruto. 'You attacked the village!'<br>'I – what?' Naruto spluttered in shock and anger; he backed away as Tori and his friends began to advance on him. 'I didn't do anything! Why would I attack my own village?'  
>Naruto felt two of the boys grab his arms; holding them where he stood, while Uzura tore his bag from his shoulder and ransacked the contents inside.<br>'Hey!' Naruto shouted as he watched Uzura throw various scrolls and books on the floor and struggled to release himself from the grip of the older boys. 'You can't just throw my stuff – ooff!'  
>The Jinchuuriki's knees buckled as Tori's fist collided with his stomach – knocking the wind out of him.<br>'Shut up, you!' Tori sneered at the Jinchuuriki.  
>'Heh, nothing interesting anyway.' Uzura laughed as he threw the now empty rucksack at Naruto's feet.<br>'That's a shame.' Tori pouted playfully at Naruto. 'So you have the nerve to show your face around here with nothing to compensate for it? I can't believe the Hokage is letting you live; you're nothing but a nuisance! A pest that needs to be eradicated! This is for the village!' Tori punched Naruto's stomach again while his friends cackled and hooted in encouragement.

The beatings continued and soon Naruto felt like a ragdoll that had been thrown around by a tantruming toddler. Despite the constant punching and kicking Naruto continued to struggle out of the older boys' grip, he was determined to fight back and show his attackers that he wasn't a piece of dirt that they could walk all over when they pleased.  
>'Look at him, Kasasagi!' Uzura chuckled at one of the boys who was holding onto Naruto's arms. 'Suck a pathetic little worm.'<br>'What do you expect?' The boy to Naruto's right replied tauntingly. 'He doesn't get the elite training at he's school that we get at ours.'  
>'He doesn't deserve any training.' Uzura sneered while his friends laughed and jeered at the Jinchuuriki.<br>Each of the boys stopped laughing as a kunai flew past Tori; barely missing his cheek.  
>'What do you think you're doing?' A new voice sounded from behind the group; the tone of the new voice was calm, yet intimidating. Naruto couldn't see the newcomer but the image he pictured in his head was that of another boy who was roughly the same age of his attackers with dark mysterious features.<br>'It's Uchiha.' The boy named Kasasagi announced quietly as he and the others glanced around at the figure behind them.  
>To Naruto's surprise, the older boys released their grasp on his bruised arms – letting him drop painfully to the ground – and gathered their own bags from the floor.<br>'We're done here.' Tori called out coldly before turning his back on the new arrival to face Naruto once more. 'You're lucky this time, monster.' Tori and his friends quickly left the scene.

Naruto was finally able to see who had thrown the kunai now that the group of older boys had disappeared; this guy had ebony chin-length hair – which was a spiked mess at the back and bangs framed his pale face – his dark eyes were narrowed into a glare at the backs of the retreating group, he wore the same navy blue blazer and red tie with light grey trousers and smart shoes. He looked as though he was approximately the same age as Naruto.  
>"<em>He's one of them<em>!" Naruto scowled to himself as he reached for his tattered rucksack and started to collect his books and scrolls – each of them were either covered in dirt or ripped. He furiously shoved them back into his bag – making the damage to the book, scrolls and bag even worse – averting his eyes from the boy that stood before him.  
>The ebony haired boy sighed and knelt down in front of Naruto, 'here let me –'<br>'I don't want your help!' Naruto growled; snatching his last book out of the stranger's hands. 'I was doing fine on my own!' He stuffed the book into his rucksack and scooped the tattered bag into his arms before he pivoted on the spot and ran as fast as he could from the other boy; feeling those dark eyes boring into his back as he ran.

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><p>Naruto finally stopped running when he reached Konoha Academy. Half of him was pleased to see that his friends; Kiba and Shikamaru, had waited for him but the other half was embarrassed that they had seen him covered in bruises and bleeding while he clutched at his rucksack in a vain attempt to keep the contents inside.<br>'What the hell happened to you?' Kiba – a boy who was slightly taller than Naruto with short, brown hair and a red, triangular marking on each cheek; like his mother, this boy had a wild look about him – asked in astonishment. Kiba stared between the torn rucksack in Naruto's arms, the bruise that was blemishing around Naruto's left eye and the blood that was seeping from the blond's swollen lower lip.  
>'It's nothing.' Naruto mutter; waving Kiba's question away. 'I just –'<br>'Fell over?' Shikamaru interrupted sceptically. This boy was also taller than Naruto; he had spiky, raven coloured hair that was tied back – making his hair look like the leaves from a pineapple. 'You're a bad liar, Naruto.'  
>'You should get these injuries seen to, you know.' Kiba added; poking at one of Naruto's contusions and watching in amusement as the blond winced in response. 'They could get infected or something.'<br>'It's fine, honestly.' Naruto gave them both his usual wide grin. 'Are we going to stand around here all day or what? I wanna go to Ichiraku's!'  
>Kiba sighed wearily as he watched his golden haired friend hurry along ahead of Shikamaru and himself. 'I think he's definitely fine if he's that enthusiastic.'<br>'I wonder how he got those injuries though.' Shikamaru stared curiously after Naruto as well.  
>'Who knows?' Kiba shrugged as he slowly began to follow the blond in question with Shikamaru at his side.<br>'We should tell Iruka Sensei. Usually I wouldn't bother, but it looks like he got it pretty bad this time.'  
>'When are you gonna tell him?'<br>Shikamaru heaved a sigh, 'I guess he should know sooner rather than later.' Shikamaru cleared his throat and raised his voice so that Naruto could hear him. 'Hey Naruto, I've forgotten my homework, I'll be back in a minute.'  
>'Can't you just leave it?' Naruto moaned; walking back towards Kiba and Shikamaru.<br>'I'd love to, believe me, but my mum would kill me.' Shikamaru huffed as he turned back towards the school. 'I'll only be five minutes. Wait up, okay?'


	2. Chapter 1 and a half

_**AN:**_Hello again! Thanks for the reviews guys, I really appreciate the advise :D unfortunately I can't act on it because I kinda still haven't thought of a title for this fic and I know I shoulda uploaded the whole chapter, ya know. Anyway, I won't be able to spend as much time as I'd like to on this so I'm only posting as and when I can (between work and stuff) I guess a title can wait until a later date for now, I'm not overly fussed about people overlooking this for a while - not if I can't update regularly. Anyway, I'm rambling now sooooo… everything is a non profit online only publication. Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and TV Tokyo. I apologise in advance for any grammatical and spelling mistake :) I'm sorry if my writing is super bad as well, to be honest, I never really enjoyed English Literature as a subject at school *sheepish grin*

~Fishcake

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><p>Naruto sat on his bed while he examined the damage that his rucksack had sustained during the encounter with the boys from Konohagakure Institute; the contents of the rucksack were now strewn about on the floor at the foot of Naruto's bed, waiting to be checked through and fixed if possible. With a frustrated groan, he threw the bag to the floor and fell back upon his pillows; glowering at the ceiling - he knew his rucksack was near enough impossible to permanently repair and he wouldn't have the money to buy a new one until the end of the month; he'd just have to find something to try to temporarily repair his rucksack with until he could replace it.<p>

He pushed himself off of his bed; which creaked under his weight, and sauntered into the bathroom where he checked his reflection in the mirror; his eye wasn't as swollen and puffy as it had been earlier and the cut on his lip wasn't too noticeable now either, but it was going to be difficult to conceal or make up excuses for the various bruises, nevertheless - especially the one around his eye.

'I guess I got off somewhat lightly this time,' Naruto told himself aloud; now lifting his black t-shirt that bore the Uzumaki clan sign on the back to check his stomach for any wounds and bruises, 'I usually get beaten a lot, so this is nothing really.'

A knocking sound echoed throughout his small apartment; startling the blond. Naruto hastily pulled his t-shirt over his stomach again and grabbed his orange and black jacket to conceal the marks on his arms that had been given to him by those boys. Once he had crossed his apartment, the blond opened the door to greet his visitor.

'Iruka?' Naruto cocked his head at his sensei, but stepped to one side so that the man with the scarred nose and a hairstyle that reminded Naruto of Shikamaru's could enter into the apartment. 'What are you doing here?'

'I wanted to make sure that you were okay.' Iruka's face was lined with worry as he observed Naruto's black eye and cut lip. 'I saw you after school earlier, but didn't want to bother you in front of your friends.' Iruka hated lying; especially to those he dearly loved, but he felt that it would be better if Naruto remained oblivious to the fact that Shikamaru Nara had expressed concern about Naruto to him; he was almost positive that Naruto would overreact to the information and no doubt attempt to start an argument with Shikamaru when they met again.

'Oh, that?' Naruto grimace slightly at Iruka.

'Naruto, who did this to you?' The older man motioned towards the blond's face.

'It… it doesn't matter.'

'Was it someone at school?'

'No.'

'Was it someone you know?'

'No.'

'Please tell me?'

'No.'

Worry filled Iruka's brown eyes, he led the younger boy to the sofa and then went to the kitchen to find Naruto's make-shift first aid kit. 'You should really talk to someone about this, I'm alway here to listen, you do know that, right?' Iruka frowned as he reached for the green box on top of the fridge. 'Maybe I can help you.'

Naruto remained silent while Iruka started tending to his injuries; thinking back to what Tori and his friends had said to him before they had started punching and kicking him. The blond rested one of his hands over his stomach; over the place where the seal that kept the Nine Tailed Fox locked away was located.

'Iruka?' Naruto's voice was soft and quiet - almost childlike.

'Hm?' Iruka glanced up at the blond's troubled face.

'Am I… a monster?'

Iruka blinked at Naruto; completely taken aback at the question. 'Where did you get an idea like that from?'

Naruto sighed and let his gaze wander to the window above his kitchen sink, '… everyone calls me a monster. They either yell it at me or whisper it behind their hands. I always hear them.'

'You're not a monster, Naruto.' Iruka gave the blond's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. 'You're a citizen of Konoha and a fine student. I'm sure that one day you'll achieve your dream to become Hokage.'

Naruto grinned appreciatively at the older man, 'thanks Iruka.'

'Which reminds me,' Iruka's tone became stern, but a small involuntary smile still played on his lips, 'why wasn't you in class this afternoon?'

'Er… heh, I had a doctor's appointment?' Naruto chuckled mischievously.

'Yeah right! You can't lie to me, you knucklehead.'

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><p>Naruto slammed his door shut, jammed the key in the lock and locked the door before shoving the key hastily into his pocket while he cursed his luck. He set off at a run towards his school; knowing that Kiba and Shikamaru wouldn't have waited for him this morning.<p>

'I can't believe I overslept again!' Naruto moaned desperately. 'Iruka's going to kill me!'

The blond turned down a nearby alleyway; knowing that this would keep him off of the bustling village streets, and hurried off down the petal-covered path of the cherry blossom wood; pushing the memories of the beating out of his mind.

He came to an abrupt halt as a dark haired figure passed him.

"Him!" Naruto glowered as he recognised the face from the previous day; but the other boy didn't acknowledge Naruto's presence, he continued to walk towards Konohagakure Institute as though he had seen no one. Naruto continued to glare over his shoulder at the raven haired teen until he was almost out of sight.

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><p>'S-sorry I'm late.' Naruto stuttered as he collapsed through the door of his tutor group, clutching at a stitch in his side. 'I overslept.'<p>

'Take your seat, Uzumaki.' Iruka sighed, he then waited until the blond had settled down next to a pink haired girl named Sakura. 'As I was saying, next week you'll be meeting the groups you've been assigned to, it's a program between our school and Konohagakure Institute…'

'Psst, Naruto…' Sakura murmured to her classmate.

'Sakura?' Naruto whispered back.

'What happened to you?'

'Huh? What do you mean?'

'Yesterday, you didn't attend our science lesson! I had to do our presentation on my own!'

'That was yesterday?'

'Yes!'

'I'm sorry.' Naruto glanced at her; fearing that she might unleash her temper upon him. 'I had to go home early.'

'What?' Sakura's expression changed from anger to curiosity. 'Why?'

Naruto motioned to his black eye, 'I got into a bit of trouble.'

'You mean to say that you started another fight?'

'Not exactly.'

'Let me guess,' she rolled her eyes impatiently at him, 'another "friendly argument" with Kiba?'

'Heh, I wish!' Naruto sniggered. 'I still haven't got him back for -'

'Is that understood, Uzumaki?' Iruka's chastising voice cut across Naruto and Sakura's whispered conversation; it was only now that Iruka had managed to regain their focus that the pair realised that they didn't know what he had just spoken about.

'Er… yes, Iruka Sensei.'

'Maybe you'd like to repeat what I just said then?'

'Er… well…' Naruto glanced towards Sakura, hoping that she could help him; but her attention was now fully focused upon their tutor. 'We'll be meeting our assigned groups… and… and I forgot the rest.'

'You've already arrived late, don't distract my other students.' Iruka folded his arms and glared at Naruto. 'I'm giving you a detention for disruptive behaviour.'

A bell sounded from the corridor beyond the classroom door to signal that their tutor session had come to an end; the class slowly rose to their feet, collected their bags and left the room to head off to their first lesson; chatting happily to one another.

'Sorry, Naruto.' Sakura spoke in a soft voice as she stood up. 'I didn't mean to get you in trouble.'

'Don't worry about it.' The blond gave her a warm smile while he too rose from the desk. 'I'll see you later.'

'Yeah.'

After every student had filed out of the room, Naruto strode to the front of the classroom and leaned against the table in front of Iruka's desk while his teacher pulled out a pink detention note from the drawer of his desk and filled in the details.

'Straight after school on Monday, Naruto.' Iruka frowned, handing the paper to the blond. 'I'll collect you from your last lesson.'

'Yes, Iruka Sensei.' Naruto automatically replied in a glum voice, stuffing the paper into the pocket of his trousers. The blond then grabbed his tattered rucksack and left the classroom to meet Shikamaru, Kiba and Chōji - a plump boy with short brown hair and was usually seen snacking on a bag of crisps between - or even during - lessons.

'He gave you detention again, huh?' Kiba smirked at his blond friend.

'Yeah.' Naruto retrieved the pink slip from his pocket and tried to smooth the creases out; his eyes lingered on the place that was designated for the signature of a parent or guardian.

'Too bad.' Chōji joined the conversation through a mouthful of crisps. 'Are you gonna go?'

'I suppose I better.' Naruto sighed. 'Otherwise he'll just double the detention.'

'Or put you in isolation again.' Shikamaru added. The four boys headed towards their literacy classroom at a brisk walk - each knowing that their teacher would find some embarrassing punishment if they were late to their lesson.

'Hey, are we going to taijutsu practise during lunch?' Kiba asked as they cut across the playground towards the literacy facility.

'I think I'll pass today.' Shikamaru droned. 'I feel like playing shōji.'

'Suit yourself,' Kiba shrugged indifferently, 'what about you, Naruto? Chōji?'

'I can't.' Chōji smile apologetically in response as he opened another bag of crisps. 'I promised Iruka Sensei that I'd help him prepare for Parents' Consultation Evening tonight.'

'I forgot about that!' Kiba exclaimed; smacking the palm of his hand against his forehead. 'He's going to tell my mum about Akamaru!'

'Well, you was told not to bring him to school.' Shikamaru grinned and shook his head in amusement; remembering all the times that Kiba had been told off by various teachers for bringing his huge dog into school.

'Are you mad? I never go anywhere without Akamaru!'

'I don't see him now.' Naruto teased.

'Well… I… URGH!' Kiba folded his arms across his chest and pouted irritably while his friends sniggered at him.

Shikamaru was the first to calm down, 'it's not like you can hide him in your bag anymore, he's enormous now.'

'Yeah,' Kiba sighed sadly, 'but he's not a puppy anymore.' He pushed open a set of double doors as the group of friends strolled into the literacy facility and then took an immediate left turn into Jiraiya Sensei's class.

'Good morning, boys. You're right on time!' Jiraiya; a man with white hair, dark eyes and red markings leading from his eyes down his cheeks, greeted them excitedly as they entered the room. 'We're starting a new book today, I worked hard to get it into our curriculum so you better appreciate it!' Jiraiya motioned towards a pile of volumes on his desk. Each of the four boys picked up a copy of the book and sat at their desks.

Naruto read the title on the book cover out loud, 'The Tale of a Gutsy Ninja?'

'That's right!' Jiraiya beamed. 'It was written by yours truly! It may not have been a best seller, but I'm sure you'll all love it.'

'If it's like your other books, then I doubt it.' Naruto muttered to himself - only Kiba and Shikamaru; who both sat either side of him, heard his comment and had to clear their throats to disguise their laughter.

'This is going to be such a drag,' Shikamaru moaned quietly as he slumped back into his chair and examined the glossy cover of the book, 'we're going to have to have to put up with his boasting all lesson.'

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><p>Their literacy lesson had been better than Naruto had expected; of course they had to put up with Jiraiya Sensei's bragging throughout most of the class-reading, but Naruto found that he'd rather enjoyed the first chapter of the book - something that he wasn't willing to tell his friends; they had already laughed and joked at the fact that Naruto shared his name with the main protagonist of the novel. Naruto had waved his friends away after the lesson and remained in his seat until the last student had left the room.<p>

Naruto hesitantly cleared his throat and addressed the white haired man who was now collecting the copies of A Tale of a Gutsy Ninja that each student had left on their desks, 'Sensei?'

'Hm?' Jiraiya's eyes met Naruto's. 'Oh, Naruto. Haven't you got another lesson to go to?'

'Yeah, but I wanted to ask you something.'

A smile broke over Jiraiya's face; he knew the kid well. 'You want to learn new a ninjutsu technique?'

'No.' Naruto shook his head and returned the smile. He then held up the book that he had been reading from during their lesson. 'I was wondering if I could take this home with me?'

'Oho!' Jiraiya's eyes lit up excitedly. 'You like my book, huh?'

'Uh…' Naruto felt heat rise to his face. 'I just wanna know what happens next, I'm only curious.'

A complacent expression settled over Jiraiya's face, 'of course you can take the book. Just don't forget to tell me how great it is.'

'Thanks, Pervy Sage!'

'What have I told you about calling me that!'

Naruto grinned mischievously at his Sensei as he put the book in his bag and rose from his seat, 'I wouldn't call you Pervy Sage if you wasn't such an old pervert!'

Jiraiya threw his head back in laughter, 'haven't you got another lesson now?'

Jiraiya watched the blond teenager leave the room - both of them calling playful insults to each other as Naruto departed - he then continued to tidy away the books.

"I wonder how he got that black eye." A concerned expression fell across the man's face as he thought about the possible causes for Naruto's injury. "He can't have got himself into another fight… could he?" Jiraiya picked up the last of the books and glanced at the cover. "I'm sure it's nothing that he can't handle, he's strong just like his mum and dad." Jiraiya stared at the cover of the book for a while longer. "You're just like him, Naruto. You never give up, do you?"

He smiled, fondly thinking of the memories that he shared with the Jinchūriki; letting his mind wander to the day he met Naruto.

'_I don't know who you are or where you're from, but…' A man wearing shades, navy blue shinobi uniform and a matching bandana with his leaf Shinobi headband attached to it had charged at Jiraiya; standing behind the man was a small child around the age of twelve wearing an orange and blue jumpsuit. 'I will not stand for any disreputable behaviour!'_

_Jiraiya - who had been peeking at the women in the bathhouse through a small hole in the the wooden pannel - whipped his head around in time to see the ninja charging at him, 'huh?'_

_After few quick hand seals Jiraiya had been able to summon one of the toads from Mount Myoboku._

_'Y- you're…!' Jiraiya had barely heard the other man's stutter before the toad's tongue tripped him up and knocked him unconscious._

_'Don't make a fuss, eh?' Jiraiya had scowled. 'Sheesh, you'll get us busted and what'll we do then?'_

_Naruto had stood before Jiraiya; staring between the unconscious figure and Jiraiya in confusion. The blond had cautiously approached the unconscious Shinobi, quickly nudged the man and then turn his cold glare onto Jiraiya._

_'What's up with that humongous frog?' Naruto pointed and yelled accusingly at Jiraiya. 'Who the heck are you?'_

_A small laugh escaped Jiraiya lips; which were drawn back into a smug smirk, 'good question!' He threw his arms into a proud pose to impress the brat in front of him. 'I am the most holy hermit sage of the Mount Myoboku toads, otherwise known as the toad sage. Pleased to meet ya!'_

_Naruto's confusion deepened, 't- toad sage?'_

Jiraiya chuckled again - Naruto had practically stalked him that day, begging him to make Naruto his disciple. Eventually Jiraiya was persuaded to comply with Naruto's wishes and soon after the incident he had found the Shinobi - who he then recognised as Ebisu - and learnt that Iruka has asked Ebisu to help Naruto with his poor chakra control.

Jiraiya shook his head and brought his mind back to the present day; reminiscing wasn't going to get his next lesson prepared.

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><p>Naruto unlocked his door and dropped his ruined rucksack on the floor of his apartment as he crossed the threshold; closing the door behind him, toeing out of his shoes and placing the screwed up pink detention note on the shelf next to his frog purse. He grabbed his orange jumpsuit trousers and his black t-shirt from the end of his bed and headed to the cramped bathroom to change his clothes.<p>

Before pulling his t-shirt over his head, Naruto checked the bruises on his arms, stomach and face - he was pleased to see that the bruises on his arms had already disappeared and those that were on his stomach were almost invisible. The contusion on around his eye now displayed green-yellow colours; as though the bruise was a few days old rather than twenty four hours old.

He pulled the t-shirt over his head; putting his arms through the sleeves and covering his stomach with the dark material. He stepped out of the bathroom; tossing his uniform into a hamper for cleaning over the weekend. Naruto's sapphire eyes lingered over a wooden door that led to his own training room; wondering whether he should practise some taijutsu or ninjutsu.

'I have all weekend.' Naruto dismissed the idea aloud; stretching his arms above his head and then bringing his interlocked fingers down to rest on the back of his head.

Naruto strode into his bedroom and grabbed his orange and black jacket; putting it on and zipping it up as he headed towards the door again - picking his frog purse up off of a shelf along the way and stuffing it into the pocket of his trousers.

The blond tugged a pair of brown coloured zori onto his feet, then headed off to Ichiraku's Ramen.

* * *

><p>'Miso ramen with pork on top, please!' Naruto called out and he settle himself on one of the stalls at Ichiraku's Ramen.<p>

'Hey Naruto!' Teuchi smiled and waved at Naruto over his shoulder. 'Where's your friend today?'

'Huh?' Naruto blinked at Teuchi in puzzlement. 'Oh yeah, Chōji! He's still at school, it's parent consultation evening.'

'That's too bad.' Teuchi sighed sadly as he drained the noodles and stirred the broth.

'Well, there's no point in dwelling on it.'

'Stay positive!' Teuchi placed a steaming bowl of miso ramen in front of the blond teenager with an encouraging grin. 'Extra pork on the house, Naruto.'

'Really?' Naruto beamed back at him happily and grabbed a pair of chopsticks. 'Thanks!'

Ayame - a brunette girl who was Teuchi's daughter and served as the waitress at Ichiraku's - placed a glass of water next to Naruto's bowl, 'hey Naruto, how's it going?'

Naruto swallowed his mouthful of steaming noodles before replying, 'not bad thanks, Ayame.'

With no other customers to serve, Ayame leaned against the counter so that she was facing the blond. 'How's school?'

'Same stuff, different day.' Naruto shrugged, placing more noodles into his mouth and chewing thoughtfully. 'Pervy Sage started reading a new book to us today. He let me take a copy home.'

'I didn't think you liked to read.' Teuchi stated with a pensive expression.

'This book's different!' Naruto enthused. 'We're only on the first chapter, but it's about a ninja who vows to never give up and wants to break the cycle of war, conflict and hatred. I can't tell you too much about it because I haven't read anymore of it yet.'

While Naruto finished his ramen, he spoke to Teuchi and Ayame about his school work, Iruka Sensei and the new menu that was going to be introduced at Ichiraku's. The blond thanked the pair, paid for his ramen and waved goodbye as he stepped out of the shop.

The sun was just hovering above the trees of the forest that surrounded Naruto's home village. Deciding that it was a little too early for him to return home, the Jinchūriki headed towards the training fields; where he usually like to watch the village Shinobi spar against each other or practise the techniques; Naruto never sparred against the Shinobi not did he practise his Shuriken and Kunai throwing techniques here as he was unwelcome amongst many of the villagers. At this time of day it was likely that the training field would be void of all people so Naruto found that it was a relaxing place to take a stroll before returning to his empty apartment for the night.

The blond cheerfully ambled into the training field; enjoying the sound of the grass rustling as the warm spring breeze glided over it. Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto noticed a figure dressed in a white long sleeve shirt that had a red and white paper fan crest on the back with dark blue trousers and a blue cloth - that was fastened with a lilac rope. Although the stranger's back was facing Naruto, the blond was fairly certain that he recognised the style of the stranger's hair - it was the same guy who interrupted those attackers the previous day and the same guy who Naruto had run past that every morning. The ebony haired boy was using the wooden dummies for his shuriken practise, he was so focused on perfecting his aim that he hadn't acknowledged Naruto's arrival, or maybe he had decided to ignore Naruto.

The blond quietly crossed the field; so that he could be as far from the raven haired teenager as possible, he tried to ignore the other boy but his eyes kept flickering back towards the silhouette of the inky haired youth.

"Who the heck is that guy, anyway?" Naruto thought angrily; scowling to himself as his eyes flashed over to the teen in question once more; this time his gaze rested on the red and white crest on the back of the white shirt. "That symbol… I've seen it before… but where?"

Naruto watched as the other boy stopped throwing his shuriken and froze where he stood.

'Huh?' Naruto whispered to himself and narrowed his eyes to squint at the stranger. 'Did he sense something?'

The dark haired boy slowly turned around; his eyes locked onto Naruto. The blond quickly spun on the spot so that he was facing the wooded area that surrounded the training field and pretended to be interested in one of the trees.

"Crap!" Naruto could feel those dark eyes linger on him and fought hard to keep his composure; not willing to let the other know that he had noticed the stranger's presence. "He sensed me!"

Naruto didn't dare look back in case the other teen was still staring at him. He didn't deem it safe to relax until he heard the constant "thud" of the shuriken impaling the wood once more - only then did he slowly continue his journey around the training field; determined not to let his gaze wander back over to the silhouetted figure.


	3. Chapter 2

_**AN/ Disclaimer:** __Surprise! Still stumped for a title, maybe haven't payed much attention to writing fanfiction in the past few months due to demanding workload and stress in my career (I didn't say that though best we're not allowed to be stressed nor are we allowed to possess any emotion whatsoever; almost as though we're robotic beings!) So you'll have to excuse me if this chapter is sloppy (though I have pointed out previously that English literature is not a strong point of mine anyway, I'm not a very creative person anyways.) Anyhow, enough complaining. Gotta feeling that this chapter is quite OOC (can't actually remember writing half of it in my sleep deprived state) but thought I should give another chapter anyway; it's been a few months..._

_Feel free to ask any questions. Reviews would be much appreciated, but are not compulsory.  
><em>

_I do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, TV Tokyo and other __representatives/ studios involved in the creation of Naruto. This is a non-profitable fanfiction. Please support the official release._

_Hope you like it :)_

_**Chapter Two**_

The class cleaned their paint pallets, packed their books and pencils away, pulled their yellow school jumpers over their heads and pushed their chairs under the desks as the final bell rang throughout Konoha Academy.

'I don't recall telling anyone to pack away yet.' Suzume - a chūnin level Kinoichi with curly, ebony hair who wore round glasses - called out to her art class. Her red-stained lips pulled back into a sincere smile as she watched each student quietly and irritably edge back into their seats. 'For our next lesson, I want all of you to research two artist. I also want a transcription piece from each artist complete with annotations.'

'I thought this was an art class,' Kiba groaned quietly, 'if I wanted to do some "creative writing", I'd write a book.'

'You idiot.' Shikamaru muttered back; making a note of their homework in his organiser. 'Just because you're writing about art, it doesn't mean that you're actually doing creative writing.'

'Whatever!' Kiba yawned. 'It still seems pointless. All she's gonna do is look at the first sentence, put a few ticks here and there throughout the rest of the essay and write something like "good job" with a smiley face at the bottom of the last paragraph. They all do!'

'Class dismissed!' Suzume chimed happily.

The students regained their hype as they collected their belongings once more and steadily left the classroom.

'Are you walking home with us today, Naruto?' Kiba asked while he, Naruto and Shikamaru made a slow progression towards the classroom door behind the rest of the class.

'I can't.' Naruto huffed. 'I have detention with Iruka Sensei.'

'Come on,' teased Kiba, 'he set that detention last Friday! He's not going to remember.' Kiba smirked in satisfaction as he watched Naruto contemplate the idea of skipping his detention. "One more push ought to do it!" Kiba thought gleefully with a quiet snicker. He then pretended to pout up at the ceiling. 'Ah well, I guess your detention is more important than coming with us to Ichiraku's. Too bad, eh Shikamaru?'

'What?' Shikamaru turned his own gaze onto their dog-like friend. 'Don't get me involved!'

'Ichiraku's?' Naruto stared thoughtfully at the floor. 'I guess I could tell Iruka Sensei that I forgot or something…'

'So you're coming with us then?' Kiba cheered triumphantly and flung his arm around Naruto's shoulders as they entered the corridor. 'Aw right!'

'Where are you going, Uzumaki?' Iruka's voice issued from behind the small group as they turned to walk down the corridor.

The three boys jumped in surprise and pivoted on the spot to face their Sensei; who was leaning against the wall next to the art classroom's door with his arms folded across his chest and a chastising expression.

'Iruka Sensei!' The blond stared in bewilderment and shock; hoping that Iruka had not heard the conversation between Kiba and himself. 'I was just - I'm about to -' A million excuses whirled around Naruto's mind, but none of them passed his lips. He guiltily cast his eyes away from Iruka's face as the older man arched one of his eyebrows disapprovingly. 'I'll see you guys tomorrow.' The Jinchūriki mumbled at his two friends, he then shuffled forward to follow Iruka.

'See you, Naruto!' Kiba called after the blond.

'I knew it wouldn't work.' Shikamaru chuckled lightly.

'You could've said something sooner!' Kiba snorted.

'Why bother? You probably wouldn't to me listen anyway.'

Iruka silently opened the classroom door; holding it open for his student to enter the room before motioning towards the desk that stood in front of his own - where a pen and paper had been set out already.

'Lines!' Naruto moaned at Iruka as he fell into his designated chair.

'Yes, Naruto.' Iruka replied in his chastising tone. 'You'll be here for an hour and a half writing "I will not be late for school" over and over again.'

'Fine.' Naruto heaved a sigh, picked up his pen and pouted glumly at the paper while Iruka began to mark a tall pile of books that belonged to his students.

Naruto's hand hovered over the paper as he blinked blankly at it.

'Uh, Iruka Sensei?'

'Is there a problem, Naruto?'

'What do I have to write again?'

Iruka slowly lifted his head so that his eyes met Naruto's, 'sorry?'

'I… er… I forgot what you wanted me to write.'

'Oh.' Slightly taken aback, Iruka grabbed a scrape piece of paper from the top draw of his desk, scribbled "I will not be late for school" on it and rose from his seat. 'Are you really that forgetful?' Iruka asked as he placed the note in front of the blond.

'Long day.' Naruto murmured in response; he then began to write the sentence out.

The brunet man returned to his marking; allowing himself to steal the odd glance at Naruto every now and again.

After approximately one hour, Iruka had found that Naruto's writing speed had deteriorated rapidly and that the boy would occasionally let his own attention wander.

Frowning slightly, Iruka cleared his throat so that the blond instantly snapped out of his stupor and hastily scrawled across the page again; huffing and sighing to himself all the while. Iruka leaned back in his own chair to survey the teenager.

"Maybe I'm too hard on him." The thought raced across Iruka's mind as he took note of the dark marks under both of Naruto's eyes and the pasty tinge to Naruto's face. "He's not looking too good, he could probably do with some rest."

'Hey Naruto,' Iruka's tone had become soft and he waited patiently until Naruto looked up at him in response, 'why don't we get some ramen this evening?'

The Jinchūriki's eyes widened excitedly, 'really? You mean it?'

'Of course.' Iruka smiled warmly. 'It'll be my treat.'

'Great!' Naruto bounced happily in his seat with a huge grin on his face. 'I can't wait!'

Iruka chuckled as he watched Naruto's hand speed enthusiastically across his piece of paper. 'Careful Naruto, you'll get a cramp if you carry on like that.'

'It'll be worth it for the ramen!'

When Naruto's detention was over, Iruka tidied his desk while the teen grabbed his tattered rucksack and draped it over his shoulder.

'Come on, Iruka Sensei!' Naruto moaned; running over to the classroom door. 'Ramen's waiting for us!'

'All right, all right.' Iruka attempted to hush the blond. 'Calm down.'

They left the classroom together - Iruka paused to lock the classroom door while Naruto rushed down the corridor only to stop and wait for the older man at the end.

'Excitable as always, I see.' A deep chuckled sounded from behind Iruka - there stood a taller man in his early thirties with brown eyes, short, black spiky hair along with a short beard, he wore his usual navy blue Shinobi uniform beneath his green flak jacket and his Konoha forehead protector was fastened to his forehead. Tied around his waist was a white sash with a red "火" symbol embroidered onto it.

'Asuma?' Iruka cocked his head to one side. 'You're back so soon?'

'Yeah.' Asuma nodded at his co-worker. 'Thanks to Kakashi and Gai.' He laughed tiredly as he pulled a pack of cigarettes out of one if the pockets on his flak jacket. 'It was only supposed to be a B rank mission, but the situation quickly escalated when we crossed over the boarder into the Land of Rice.'

'Really?' Iruka cast a concerned glance in Asuma's direction. 'What -'

'Hey!' Naruto's yells echoed down the corridor; interrupting the conversation between the two shinobi. 'Are we getting Ramen or what?'

Asuma grinned slyly at the blond over Iruka's shoulder while he addressed the man who stood before him. 'I'll tell you about it tomorrow.'

'Right.' The brunet agreed in an apologetic tone. 'Sorry about Naruto.'

'Don't worry.' Asuma raised his hand in farewell as he turned away. 'Oh!' The ebony haired turned back towards Iruka. 'Have you seen the list for the Genin teams yet?'

'Not yet.' Iruka shook his head thoughtfully. 'Why's that?'

'It's… interesting.' Asuma turned away again and proceeded down the corridor. 'I'm looking forward to seeing how the kids will get along. Well, I'll see you around, Iruka.'

* * *

><p>'Hey Sakura!' Naruto hurried over to his pink haired classmate.<p>

'Naruto?' Sakura eyed him suspiciously; her eyes lingered over Kiba's sniggering form and Shikamaru's exasperated expression far behind Naruto. 'What's wrong?'

'I was wondering if you might want to hang out this evening, you know?' A red tint appeared in the blond's cheeks as the heat rose to his face.

'You mean… like a date?'

'Er… yeah… well sorta, ya know…'

'I'm sorry, Naruto.' Sakura's face showed that she really meant it as she placed her hand on Naruto's shoulder and lightly squeezed it in a comforting way. 'But I only see you as a friend.' She couldn't help but smile a little when she saw the blond's blush deepen and his disappointed eyes fell to the ground. 'Maybe… we could walk home together?' She added.

Naruto's expression brightened up as he returned her grin and his blue eyes met her green ones again. 'Sure!'

The blond fell into step beside her as she began to lead the way out of the school gates. Glancing over his shoulder, Naruto saw Kiba nudge and whisper something to Shikamaru before he fell into another wave of giggles while the brunet teen smacked the palm of his hand against his own forehead and made - what looked like - a snarky comment back at Kiba.

'So…' The blond ruffled his hair with his hands and cast his cerulean eye's to Sakura's face. 'Got anything planned for this weekend?'

'Of course not.' Sakura stared incredulously at Naruto. 'We might be assigned to a mission.'

'A mission?'

'Wasn't you listening to Iruka Sensei last Friday?'

'Er, no. Not really.'

Sakura tutted at her friend, 'you really are hopeless, aren't you Naruto?' She tried to suppress her laugh as the blond spluttered at her in response. 'We're meeting our teams this week.'

'Teams?'

'Yeah, apparently we're forming three man cells with the students from Konohagakure Institute.'

'Why would we want to do that?' Naruto pouted stubbornly; envisioning himself flanked by two unpleasant strangers in navy blue blazers.

'So we can get to know each other, we'll be working together with them in the future as Shinobi. Everything was mentioned in the forms we were given to sign.'

'There were forms?'

'Yes Naruto!' Sakura shook her head disbelievingly. 'You signed yours and handed them in months ago. We even had a ninjutsu examination, you wouldn't be allowed to participate in this event if you didn't pass.'

'So, what exactly have I signed up for?'

The pink haired girl heaved a sigh and suppressed the urge to roll her eyes at the blond teenager. 'We'll be working as Genin ninja.'

'Genin?' Naruto burst in outrage. 'You mean the lowest of the ninja ranks?'

'You have to start at the bottom and work your way up.' Sakura chided. 'Even Lady Hokage - and all of the Hokages before her - started her Shinobi life as a Genin.'

'Your right, Sakura!' Naruto gave her a determined glare along with his wicked grin.

'Huh?'

'I have to work hard and train even harder in order to surpass all the previous Hokage and become Hokage myself! My new team better watch out, because I'm not holding back!'

'Teamwork is important too, you knucklehead!' Sakura playfully knocked him on the back of the head.

The pair strolled leisurely through the streets of Konoha Village; discussing who they thought would be in their Genin platoons.

'Ino!' Sakura whispered harshly.

'What?' Naruto's brow furrowed in confusion.

'Ino-pig!' Sakura pointed at a girl with long blonde hair - that was tied up in a ponytail with a long fringe that partially covered her right eye - wearing a Konohagakure Institute school uniform. 'What does she think she's doing skulking around here?'

'Ino?' Naruto's eyes wandered towards the blonde girl. 'She looks familiar… wait! She's that Yamanaka girl, right? We used to go to the same elementary school as her!'

'That's right.' Sakura slowed to a halt, her gaze still fixed on the other girl. 'She's just standing there.'

'Maybe she's lost?' Naruto suggested with a shrug as he stopped beside his pink haired companion. 'Hang on, weren't you two best friends?'

'Yeah, but we're rivals now.'

'Why? What happened?' Naruto stared imploringly at Sakura, but she didn't answer his question. Sakura was too busy following the blonde girl's gaze.

'Why that sneaky little minx!' Sakura fumed angrily.

'What's wrong?' The Jinchūriki also followed Ino's line of vision with his own eyes - only to find a familiar dark haired teenager, who was also wearing the private school's uniform and leaning against a fence with an open book in his hands. 'HIM!' Naruto growled viciously.

'What?' Sakura's turned her attention to Naruto.

'It's that guy again!' The Jinchūriki pointed accusingly at the ebony haired stranger.

'You mean Sasuke?' Sakura stared between Naruto and the other boy.

'He was - I saw him when -' Naruto fell silent for a while; he wanted to tell Sakura about his encounter with the raven haired teenager but without mentioning the beating that he had received from Tori and his friends. 'I've just seen him around, that's all. How do you know him?'

'He went to our elementary school too!' Sakura replied in a surprised tone. 'Anyway, you must've heard of him, even if you can't remember who he is. His story is infamous.'

'Story?'

'Of the Uchiha Clan.'

Naruto blinked at her. 'The Uchiha clan?'

'You really don't know?'

Naruto shook his head, 'I didn't hear anything about any Uchiha clan.'

Sakura leaned closer towards Naruto and lowered her voice to a barely audible whisper. 'The whole Uchiha clan was massacred. Sasuke was the only one to survive. I've heard a rumour that it was his older brother; Itachi Uchiha, who killed the entire clan.'

A sinking feeling filled Naruto's heart and a lump formed in his throat as his penetrating glare softened to a sympathetic gaze. 'How old was he when it happened?'

'He was only eight years old.' The pink haired girl informed while she stole a glance at the boy in question.

'So he has no family? Naruto whispered more to himself than to Sakura. 'He's just like me?'

'Huh?' Sakura covered her mouth with her hand to suppress another giggle. 'No way! Sasuke's really smart, he's skilled in ninjutsu, genjutsu and taijutsu, he's so cool and not to mention handsome.'

'And I'm not?' Naruto huffed agitatedly; folding his arms tightly over his chest.

'Well… you need to improve your genjutsu… and you're not exactly a mater of ninjutsu.' Sakura replied honestly. 'You're not really the brightest of people either.'

'All right, all right! Point taken!' The Jinchūriki grumbled; tugging on the sleeve of Sakura's yellow jumper. 'Let's keep moving.'

'Yeah.' She smiled playfully at Naruto as they both slowly moved again. 'Do you know what would really be a thorn in Ino-pig's side?' She enquired as she threw the blonde girl a rather sly grin.

'What?' Naruto asked; feeling rather worried about Sakura's scheming expression.

'She'd be really jealous if I was on the same team as Sasuke!'

'Hey, I think we'd make a good team together Sakura!'

'But being on the same team as Sasuke would be better!'

'Oh, thanks Sakura!'

* * *

><p>During their lunch break the following day, Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru and Chōji locked their school bags in their lockers and headed to the school's sports hall; where they were to wait for further instructions.<p>

'Hm, there are a lot more of us then I thought there would be.' Chōji commented as they walked through a set of double doors into the sports hall.

'Yeah.' Kiba agreed; idly scratching the back of his head and staring around at the other students. 'There has to be enough of us to make at least five platoons.'

'And there will be more from the institute.' Shikamaru added as he led his small group of friends towards the mass of waiting students. 'We'll all be split up for sure.'

'Don't we get to choose our own teams?' Naruto asked as he, Shikamaru, Kiba and Chōji found a place to settle down comfortably on the floor among the others who were participating in the Genin Event.

'Of course not, idiot.' Shikamaru rolled his eyes wearily. 'I think we'll be sorted into balanced platoons - those with the highest intellect and skills will be group with those who are… well to put it simply, like you Naruto.'

'Hey!'

'Well it is true!' Kiba teased the blond.

'Shut up, Kiba!'

'Or what?'

'I'll pulverise you!'

'That lame, old threat again, Naruto? Jeez.'

'I mean it!'

'Woah, calm down!' Chōji held his hands up in a peaceful gesture. 'Don't be so hot headed over it, Naruto.'

The blond huffed and locked his limbs together while he pouted at his friends. 'I'll show you who's hot headed!'

'Oh, cheer up!' Kiba elbowed Naruto's stomach playfully. 'We was only joking!'

'Hmph!'

'Can I have your attention for a minute please, everyone?' Iruka called out as he entered the sports hall and beamed at the students. 'I know you're all excited, but we're just waiting for the students from Konohagakure Institute to join us and then we'll begin to assign you all to your teams.'

The sound of animated conversation emitted from every corner of the hall as Iruka finished his announcement - giving Naruto and his companions a feeling of electrifying buzz about them. Through the crowd, Naruto saw his pink haired friend leaning against the brick wall with the sleeves of her yellow jumper tied loosely around her waist while she chatted happily to another girl - who was a few inches shorter than Sakura, had brunette dreadlocks that were held away from her face by a red headband, she had dark eyes and a pale face - Naruto recognised her as Matsuri; she was a year or so younger than Naruto.

The sport hall's doors swung open again and five strangers entered the hall; along with Asuma and Gai - Naruto's physical education and taijutsu teacher who had an ebony bowl haircut and was usually seen wearing a dark green, one piece jumpsuit beneath his flak jacket.

'Hey,' Naruto relaxed his limbs while he craned his neck around to see who had entered the room and then looked towards his friends, 'who are those guys? And why is Asuma and Bushier Brows Sensei here?'

'Jōnins.' Shikamaru replied with a simple shrug.

'They'll be in command of the three man cells.' Chōji elaborated. 'They'll train us and watch over us when we're on our assignments.'

The four boys watched curiously as Iruka strode over to the new arrivals and began to converse with them.

'I wish these institute kids would hurry up.' Kiba moaned as he pulled the sleeve of his jumper off of his wrist and examined the hands on his watch. 'They're ten minutes late already!'

'Stop complaining.' Shikamaru droned in a bored voice. 'They'll get her when they get here.'

'Which will be never at this rate.' Kiba retorted with an irritable edge in his tone.

After a further seven minutes of waiting, the doors finally opened once more and twenty-one students wearing inky blue blazers trooped into the sports hall - settling themselves down on the floor or wooden benches near the wall furthest away from the yellow clad students of Konoha Academy as though they had an unpleasantly contagious disease.

Behind the students of Konohagakure Institute were five more Jōnin - who joined those Jōnin that had arrived earlier.

'Man, look at that guy!' Kiba pointed at one of the blue clad institute boys who had short, brunet hair, a passive expression and was wearing wearing shades. 'He creeps me out! Could you imagine being on a team with someone like him?'

Kizashi Haruno; the head master of the academy, and a blonde haired woman had also entered the hall and now stood in a hushed conversation with the Jōnins while the student gave them curious glances.

'Isn't the headmaster of the institute supposed to be here?' Chōji wondered out loud.

'Maybe he couldn't make it.' Shikamaru offered lazily.

Kiba wrinkled his nose at Kizashi, 'isn't that Sakura Haruno's dad?'

'Yeah.' Shikamaru nodded. 'Why's that?'

'Sucks to be her!' Kiba snorted.

'What do you mean?' Chōji shot back at the Inuzuka. 'He's a nice guy.'

'Don't get me wrong, he's nice enough, but could you imagine being stuck with a parent at home and at school?' Kiba shuddered. 'You wouldn't get away with anything!'

'Kiba's got a point.' Shikamaru joined the discussion. 'I don't think I could handle my mum's nagging all the time, it's nice to get away from it for a while. Anyway, I'd hate to think of the consequences I'd have to face if she found out that I had forgotten to do my homework or flunked a lesson.'

'Your parents can't be that bad.' Naruto muttered miserably. 'They look after you when your hurt and put a roof over your head. They always there to welcome you home too.'

The sound of the blond boy's voice made the other three jump - they had carelessly forgotten that Naruto was still sitting next to them - the silence that fell between the four of them was an awkward one.

The blonde woman who had entered the hall with Kizashi Haruno stepped forwards and cleared her throat loudly while the chatter of both the Jōnins and the students died away.

Naruto blinked up at her, finally recognising who she was, 'Grandma Tsunade? What's she doing here?'

'Every ninja in the village work under the Hokage's orders.' Kiba whispered in Naruto's ear. 'Where else is she going to be, dumb-ass?'

'Good afternoon,' Tsunade's voice carried loudly and clearly to every inch of the hall - thanks to the microphone she had clipped to her ear, 'I am pleased to be here to introduce each of you to the Genin Event. From today until the end of this month, you are all Genin ranked ninja of this village. You will be divided into four man teams; one Jōnin and three Genins. You will all be assigned important missions to complete and learn new techniques in training. Your tasks will not always be easy so you better prepare yourselves for what lies ahead. When you return to your schools after this four week programme you will be disciplined and ready to take on the role of a ninja when you graduate. Failure and tomfoolery will not be tolerated, if you feel that you do not meet the requirements of a Genin ninja or wish to drop out of the programme, now would be the time to leave.'

Tsunade stared around at the students with her honey coloured eyes; as though she was challenging them to rethink their decisions and leave the hall. With a smirk, she turned to face Iruka, placed her hand over the microphone so that no one could hear her and muttered something to him. He responded with a curt nod and stepped forwards; so that he was standing a few paces ahead of Tsunade, with a piece of paper clasped in his hand.

'I will now read out your designated groups for the Genin Event.' He declared. 'When your name is called, you will line up in front of your assigned Jōnin. Team One - your Jōnin will be Kunugi Mokume - Ami, Fuki and Hibachi.' Naruto watched as three of his own classmates rose from their places and and stood beside the Jōnin who waved at them. 'Team Two - Aoba Yamashiro - Hibari, Futaba and Kōji. Team Three - Riichi - Hōsei, Tori and Jimei.'

Naruto growled as the boy named Tori stood up and approached his Jōnin; instantly recognising him as the ringleader of the group who had beaten him the previous week.

'Are you okay, Naruto?' Chōji placed a gentle hand on the blond's shoulder.

'Fine.' Naruto snarled more harshly than he had intended to, causing his friends to share cautious glances.

'What's wrong?' Kiba tried tentatively.

Naruto shook his head and forced himself into a calm demeanour. 'Nothing, I'm fine.' He then focused all of his attention on the names that Iruka was reading from his list.

'Team Six - Ebisu - Konohamaru, Udon and Moegi.' Iruka called out; watching the three kids line up in front of Ebisu. 'Team Seven - Kakashi Hatake - Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura. Team Eight -'

'Oi! That's you!' Shikamaru nudged the blond but Naruto didn't move.

'Anyone but him!' Naruto hissed to himself as his eyes fell onto Sasuke.

'Stop being a baby!' Kiba taunted as he got to his feet; tugging Naruto with him. 'See you two later.' The dog-like boy added to Shikamaru and Chōji over his shoulder while he pushed Naruto towards the line of waiting Jōnins.

'Kiba, I don't want to be in the same team as that guy!' Naruto muttered hurriedly while he tried -and failed - to push back against Kiba.

'Yeah, yeah.' Kiba yawned uninterestedly. 'Have fun!' He smirked mischievously at the Jinchūriki as he pushed the other boy towards his new team and then proceeded to join his own.

'Hello.' The Jōnin of Naruto's platoon had silver hair that was swept to the left, he wore his forehead protector at an angle so that his left eye was hidden beneath it, most of his face was concealed behind a dark blue bandana - so only his right eye was visible - and, like many of the other Jōnins, this guy was wearing a blue Shinobi outfit beneath his green flak jacket. 'It's nice of you to join us.'

'Er…' Naruto swallowed the lump that had produced in his throat and he shyly ruffled his hair to distract himself from the silver haired man's intimidating gaze. 'Hi.'

The Jōnin didn't continue their brief greetings - nor did Sasuke or Sakura - the silver haired man intently watched Iruka as he continued to read through his list instead; leaving his three subordinates to shuffle awkwardly on the spot or watch as the rest of their peers were called up.

'And Team Eleven - Anko Mitarashi - Kasasagi, Uzura and Inaho.' Iruka finally concluded as the last platoon assembled.

'These will be your teams until the programme is completed.' Tsunade addresses the hall once more. 'Training starts tomorrow. Good luck everyone. You are all dismissed.'

Everyone began to talk among their new teams as Tsunade removed the microphone that was clipped to her ear and strode out of the sports hall; talking to Kizashi Haruno.

Naruto's electric blue eyes wandered around the hall in search of his friends; he instantly found Kiba in Team Eight with two students from the private school - the boy with the sunglasses; who seemed to be unphased by the activity around him, and a girl with dark hair and pale, pupil-less eyes, she looked as though she'd rather be anywhere but where she was standing at that moment - Kiba seemed to be explaining something to the female Jōnin in charge of his team; she nodded every so often and appeared to be listening adamantly to her subordinate.

Shikamaru and Chōji were in Asuma's cell - Team Ten - along with the blonde girl from the previous day; Ino Yamanaka.

One of Naruto's friends in the year above him called Lee - a boy with a haircut identical to Gai's and huge eyebrows - was easily visible in a group with a brunette girl and a boy with long, brown hair and the same pale, pupil-less eyes as the girl in Kiba's team.

'Perhaps we should start with our names?' The silver haired Jōnin offered to his team. He then motioned towards Sakura. 'Let's start with you.'

The pink haired teenager smiled at the man and gave him a confident nod. 'My name is Sakura Haruno.'

'Sasuke Uchiha.' The ebony haired member of the team mumbled without even bothering to look at any of his comrades.

'And I'm Naruto Uzumaki!' The golden haired Jinchūriki chirped happily.

'Good.' The Jōnin smiled with his visible eye. 'Kakashi Hatake. I'm the Literature and Language teacher from Konohagakure Institute. I also serve as the Deputy Headmaster. I think you three should spend the rest of today getting to know each other and train together in the training fields.'

'You're not staying with us, Sensei?' Sakura asked in a timid voice.

'Not today, Sakura.' Kakashi replied coolly. 'I'm going to prepare for your first training session. I also have to complete a report from my latest mission so I guessed that you three could use some time to become friends.' The other teams and their Jōnins begun to leave the sports hall as Kakashi spoke to his subordinates. Kakashi held his hand up in farewell. 'I'll meet all of you on the training field tomorrow at eight o'clock.'

'Yes Sensei!' Sakura responded obediently with a salute while the boys on either side of her gave Kakashi a curt nod in acknowledgement. The three of them watched the Jōnin leave in silence and then cast each other curious glances.

'I think this belongs to you.' Sasuke finally spoke as he pulled a book out of his own satchel bag and handed it to Naruto - still without making any eye contact with the other two members of Team Seven. 'You left it behind on Thursday. I tried to give it back to you but I couldn't find you.'

The blond hesitantly took the book that was presented to him - instantly recognising it as his mathematics text book. 'Thanks.'

The silence continued. Sakura stared between Naruto and Sasuke; she couldn't help but wonder what had happened between the pair.

_"They both seem really distant."_ The small voice in Sakura's head had a worried edge to it as her green eyes flickered between the golden and raven haired boys. _"This is quite out if character for Naruto… Sasuke just said that he had met Naruto on Thursday… and Naruto did have a bruised eye on Friday - did they have a fight?"_

Sakura tried to shake the thoughts from her mind; telling herself that she was over thinking the situation, she then cleared her throat and addressed her teammates aloud. 'Maybe we should show Sasuke around the school, Naruto?'

'Why?' Naruto grumbled. 'It's a building full of book, kids and Sensei. I'm sure Sasuke knows what a school -'

'That would be great.' Sasuke interrupted with an indifferent tone - only agreeing with the pink haired girl because walking around seemed more appealing than standing around in silence.

'Let's start with Humanities.' Sakura announced as she began to lead the way out of the Sports Hall. 'It's on the ground floor of the main building.' She beamed happily as the pair followed her. 'So, Kakashi is on of your Senseis, Sasuke?'

'Yes.' Sasuke sighed wearily.

'What's he like?' Naruto asked in his hostile tone - although, he couldn't stop himself from peering wonderingly at the other boy's face.

Sasuke gave a half hearted shrug and replied in a cool voice. 'Like any other teacher, I guess.'

'That was really informative.' Naruto snorted sarcastically.

'Naruto!' Sakura snapped at him in a hushed tone. 'Show some manners and stop being rude!'

'It's fine.' Sasuke spoke dismissively.

Naruto felt his lips pull back into a snarl, 'there's no need to take that tone with Sakura, she's -'

'I don't need her help or her hospitality.'

Naruto shot a glare at Sasuke, 'you think you're so cool, don't you?'

'Naruto, stop it!' Sakura snapped at the Jinchūriki over her shoulder; then addressed their ebony haired peer in a slightly calmer tone. 'Don't mind him, he's not usually like this, I don't know what's gotten into him.'

Sasuke hadn't listened to a word that Sakura had articulated, instead he turned on the spot to face Naruto - so that the shorter teenager accidentally walked into him. 'Maybe you should think twice before you start a fight.'

'What's that supposed to mean?' Naruto snarled aggressively.

'Well, you don't want to be in the same state that you was in last week, do you, loser?' Sasuke retorted harshly.

'Urgh! Watch who you're calling a loser, you jerk!' Naruto shouted; he clenched his fist and aimed it at the Uchiha's abdomen.

'Naruto, no!' Iruka ran into the small space between both boys and put his arms up in a protective manner. Before Naruto could stop himself, his fist collided with Iruka's stomach.

'Iruka Sensei!' The blond's eyes widened in horror. 'Iruka Sensei, I didn't mean - are you - I'm sorry.'

The older man was doubled over in pain and breathing heavily, he tilted his head up towards Naruto and gave him a warning glare. 'N-Naruto… my classroom… now.'

'Iruka Sensei, I didn't mean to-'

'NOW, NARUTO!'

'I… uh… yes, Sensei.' Naruto pushed his way through the whispering onlookers that had formed in the aftermath of the incident; feeling himself shake to the core with a mixture of rage and panic.

Iruka painfully straightened himself up to his full height and spoke to the anxious Sakura and the passive Sasuke - both of whom were still stood behind him.

'Are you two okay?' The man with the scarred nose asked; massaging his stinging, tender stomach.

'Perfectly fine.' Sasuke replied; he then pushed his own way through the crowd, leaving Sakura on her own with Iruka.


End file.
